The funniest improvisational show to hit UK (and later on US) screens. The show features four contestants playing games, with suggestions sometimes taken from the studio audience. The games include: Scenes From a Hat, Party Quirks, Hoedown, and Let's Make A Date. Whose Line is it Anyway? began as a radio show on BBC Radio 4 in 1987. It was moved to television a year later in 1988. Both shows were hosted by Clive Anderson. During the first season, the show featured one regular contestant (John Sessions) and three guest contestants. From the second season onward, the contestants rotated from episode to episode and have included Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, Greg Proops, Tony Slattery, Josie Lawrence, and Brad Sherwood, just to name a few. In 1998, episodes of the show were filmed in Hollywood to celebrate the show's 10th anniversary. Episodes of the show were also filmed in New York in 1991 and 1992. Beginning in 1998, a US version of the show was made for the ABC Television Network. The original ran on Comedy Central for many years. On April 3, 2006, Whose Line returned to American television on BBC America. Whose Line is It Anyway? currently airs on BBC America in the US. It also airs on The Comedy Channel in Australia. Here is a list of some of the people who appeared on the radio show but never made it on the TV show: Lenny Henry Dawn French Nonny Williams Hugh Laurie Kate Robbins Colin Sell (music)moreless

fireballil

Quotes (664)

Clive: Hello and welcome to Whose Line Is It Anyway? which is an improvisation programme, as you'll discover if you don't improvise yourself too quickly with the 'off' knob on your television sets.

Paul: (after Clive uses the buzzer and not the bell in Party Quirks) Excuse me, there's somebody at the microwave.

(in Authors)
Clive:Archie, who is your author?
Archie: Stephen King.
Clive: Right. Stephen King. We’ll get off to a nice, frightening start. Josie?
Josie: Louisa M. Alcott. For those who don’t know her, she wrote Little Women, Little Men and Little Wives.
Clive: Yes. Yes, and little else. Paul?
Paul: The person who writes the Janet and John books.
Clive: Yes. And what did they write?
Paul: They wrote Little Men.
Clive: Little characters.

(before Party Quirks)Clive: A lot of points are going for you on this one. You could win by using this.
Paul: I realize the gravity of the situation.
Clive: Yes. You're mad then.

Archie: (in World's Worst) (clears throat) This afternoon, a school full--school bus. School bus. I’m sorry. This afternoon a school full of bus--bus full of school children. A bus full of school children careened off the road. 37 children were... (laughs)

Clive: (introducing John) What can I say about John? Actor, academic, and regular, all-round nice guy. Those are just a few of his ambitions, but...

Archie: (with a long cord between him and Josie in Props) Mom, we have to cut the cord soon.

Rory: (wearing the cone in Props) For the extrovert dunce in your life.

Trivia (66)

Comedian Rob Newman (later of The Mary Whitehouse Experience) can be briefly spotted sitting in the audience prior to the "Through the Garden Gate" segment and again after the Sound Effects game.

After Paul's microwave line in Party Quirks, Archie blows a slide whistle, ostensibly as a emphasis for the line. This would be a foreshadowing of what he would do later in future appearances.

John would do his Griff Rhys-Jones impression with the real Griff in Episode 8.

This may be the only time that the name of the film used in Film Dub was announced, it was the cult film Plan 9 From Outer Space.

Again Josie used a microphone in Song Styles; also the lighting crew had the lights dim on and off to help with the effects of her heavy metal song. John had no musical accompniament for his folk song.

In Authors, each player had two turns; in previous playings, they had only one turn.

This would be the only appearance for Richard Kaplan.

Comedian Steve Punt (later of The Mary Whitehouse Experience) can be briefly spotted sitting in the audience prior to the "Film and Theatre Styles" segment (as Clive says "Russ Meyer").

Allusions (61)

Janet and John:
Imitated by Paul in Authors, Janet and John were a series of reading books for young children in the UK, similar to the Dick and Jane books in the US.

Agony Aunt:
Imitated by Josie in Party Quirks, an 'agony aunt' is more commonly known as an advice columnist, such as Dear Abby or Ann Landers.

Ealing Comedy:
Imitated by John and Betty(mostly John) in F&TS, Ealing comedies were made by the Ealing Studios in post-WWII Britain. They are noted for being lightly satirical.

Call My Bluff:
Imitated by Jonathan in Remote Control, Call My Bluff is a game show in the UK where two teams of three try to guess obscure words; there are three possible answers, but only one is correct, the other two are 'bluffs.' The TV.com page for the show can be found here.

Jorge Luis Borges:
Imitated by Rory in Authors, Jorge Luis Borges was an Argentinian writer best known for his short stories.

Dennis Wheatley:
Imitated by Tony in Authors, Dennis Wheatley was a leading author of occult fiction and thrillers in the UK.

Egon Ronay:
Imitated by Jonathan in Authors, Egon Ronay is a Hungarian-born food critic in the UK.

One Man and His Dog:
Imitated by Griff in Remote Control, One Man and His Dog was a UK television show about sheepdog trials.